Bloated ZIP files!
Mardook
Posts: 292
I'm finding it hard to download these huge files.
Shades of Life - Urban Construct Part 1 & 2 average at 800 plus Mb.
While part 2 of HDR ProSets Yosemite Pack one averages at 1,16 Gb. The other parts of that pack are 800 or more Mb.
My ISP isn't very good at handling massive files... I'm not saying its impossible just very irritating when the downloads time out and you have to start over.
I hope that future monster files like these are broken up into more parts for those without crazy high speed internet ISPs.
Just a thought!
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Comments
DIM allows you to resume incomplete downloads.
Yep. Very big files. My connection to Daz is always slower than other sites. Not sure why. I have a Firefox plugin called Flagfox; it tells me the location of the internet server I have connected to whenever I go to a web page. Whenever I go to Daz web page the internet server shows up as Costa Rica. Maybe it's on continuous siesta. lol. I did notice on Shades of Life - Urban Construct that the Included Features did state 100 textures of 4096x4096; that always means a massive file size. Anyhoot I usually download such large files very early morning on weekends when net traffic is generally lower. But I agree that smaller file sizes would be nicer. Oh and I vaguely remember the old marketplace did state the number of files associated with the product and the size of each file, but the new market place doesn't give that handy product info.
Definition of "improvement" = one step forward and two steps back ;)
And not everybody wants to install DIM ...
And not everybody wants to install DIM ...
Ditto. All my installations are manual so I can install files where I think it's logical for me to find quickly. It's slow and tedious but content creators don't always follows any logical system or hierarchy. We all think differently. Also it helps if I move the DS content files into equivalent Poser runtime folders so I can switch between to two programs easily without trying to remember too many different file locations.
I wish people (myself and DAZ included) didn't have to deal with such large file sizes but that's kind of just how things go if I want to support things the way that I do. HDR files are 32-bit as opposed to 8-bit JPGs, in my experience they're usually about 4 times larger than JPGs of the same resolution. DAZ Studio only reads HDR files as uncompressed TIFF which I'm finding is 3 times larger than those HDRs, File size is the only reason the actual HDR files in these sets are at half the resolution of their JPG background counterparts (both HDR and JPG actually start out at around 24000x12000 after stitching so those JPGs are reduced too).
Filesize of the shader sets comes straight from how many I have in them, though I was originally planning on including 16-bit TIFF displacement textures which is a more ideal way of doing it. I switched to 8-bit PNG near the end of making my nature set after realizing it'd be an extra 40MB per texture. I'd not noticed anywhere near enough of a change in the end result to make the sets 4GBs bigger lol.
I'm sorry about download troubles, if it makes you feel any better both DAZ and I have to download AND upload this stuff on a regular basis :)
DimensionTheory: it's not the individual filesizes - I do understand them for HDRI and the like!
But Daz could split the files in smaller zips.
Greetings,
Ditto. All my installations are manual so I can install files where I think it's logical for me to find quickly. It's slow and tedious but content creators don't always follows any logical system or hierarchy. We all think differently. Also it helps if I move the DS content files into equivalent Poser runtime folders so I can switch between to two programs easily without trying to remember too many different file locations.Despite being called 'DAZ3D Install Manager', it's actually better thought of as a 'DAZ3D Download Manager'.
You don't need to install automatically with it. Honest, cross my heart!
It can download your ZIPs for you, and you can put them in the right place manually, whatever your preferred directory structure is. Resume is a killer feature, and more folks should use DIM (at least to download) just for that... (This is mainly for mardook, as a solve for the original issue, since I know other folks have already made up their minds.)
-- Morgan
I do know I don't need to install with it.
I don't like to have to install it on my preciousssss SSD C: drive (yes, I can move afterward and symlink, but I don't like being forced to first install there)
I am never sure which hassle you have to go through to make DIM think the file is installed with DIM so it will inform you about updates.
Just downloading with DIM and letting the zips sit in that folder is not an option - I have two folders, one with installed and one with not installed content and I know what is where.
Give me an option to install DIM somewhere else and give me an option to download to two different folders and I will install DIM (again).
Install to an empty folder, then delete the folder (or at least its contents). As long as the manifest file is still there (on the C: drive without fiddling, it's true) you will get update notifications.
Thanks! I will just wait until DIM works as I want it to work. *grin*
does anyone else think it's strange that the download manager has the same name as the English language slang for the word Dimwitted?
The thought is leading to a (tired) smile now and then ...
my impression of DIM is if you have no preconceived idea of how you want your content sorted it's great but if you've been using Studio for a while and sorted that business out ages ago its going to harsh your chi. My personal experience with it but mine is limited.
One of my biggest complaints about DIM is that it does next to nothing to help find stuff that hasn't been installed yet. There is hardly any useful metadata for the packages, no pictures, etc.
I don't really understand this, DIM is no more (or less) restrictive than using the installers, and has fewer clicks. You can still install to a temp folder and move file around, at the risk of breaking the CMS, just as you could with installers.
Yes, I would like to be able to sort by compatible figure for example, so that I could install a batch of stuff for the same figure in one go for testing. However, implementing that would be a pain for the developers and would potentially require redownloading everything to get the new manifests so not a task to undertake lightly.
I don't really understand this, DIM is no more (or less) restrictive than using the installers, and has fewer clicks. You can still install to a temp folder and move file around, at the risk of breaking the CMS, just as you could with installers.
that's exactly the reason I said I had limited experience with DIM, I'm not sure it was the culprit. I have a mac I use at work that I used DIM with and it seems like I have content everywhere after using it. my runtimes are not shared between my PC and this box and I don't use DIM on my PC, as I said, my experience with DIM is limited and I'm far more comfortable with a zip so I have not fully explored functionality with DIM but I don't use CMS nor want it used on my systems so breaking CMS functionality would not be a concern to me.
You know, there are a few websites, including the legal share/storage type ... they would ALL like us to install download helpers ... nothing personal, but the answer is "no" across the board. There are 2 exceptions because yeah, some do rule the roost, that would be the AV companies and Adobe.
fyi, the non-website related download helper in FF also can restart partial downloads and it does work here.
That's half of my situation. When it all works (wording deliberate) the DIM — when it finally comes out of beta testing — is going to be a great tool for newcomers to D|S and anyone struggling with setting up all their neat stuff. For those of us who've long ago set up a working and efficient manual system, it's a distraction. And don't forget it only works on stuff bought from the DAZ store.
The other half is that using it to its full potential means I must download everything I've ever bought at DAZ during the last 9+ years all over again, and throw away the manual system I have for sorting and archiving my downloads. Not going to happen.
(sorry)
As for me I had no choice BUT to use the DIM to get my downloads and I had to wait until they put the resume feature
in the DIM in order to get my downloads. Apparently my internet is waaaaay to slow for me to get my downloads
from my account page. So yes,I had a verrrrrry long wait JUST to get my downloads :(. I only use Dim
to download I don't use it to install. And to say the least, I have to babysit the DIM when I do the downloads
because it is constantly giving me download failed! And yes, I have already sent in tickets 2 times in the past
concerning this broadband width. DAZ did try to help me on the problem to no avail-basically my internet is just
to dang slow. So, basically I am saying if it wasn't for the feature of resume in the DIM- there would be NO way I can
get my downloads at all therefore I would not buy anymore of DAZ stuff because of it. And yep I have lost
out on lot of good deals because of it.
agreed... no interest here
I take it back... DIM does help and works.
Perhaps I was too quick to dismiss the utility.
Thank you DAZ and everyone else.
Carry on! :D
I've been using DAZ Studio since version 2, and I have never installed anything directly into DS with the old Bitrock installers, preferring to install to a dummy folder on my desktop, and then moving the files to where I wanted them located. I have done the same when I upgraded to DS 3 Advanced, and also DS 4.0 Pro.
As mentioned by others, I still install (or rather unpack the zips) to a dummy folder on my desktop, and then move the files where I want them. I also don't use the CMS, so I'm not concerned whether or not it functions.
That all said, I can't imagine not using DIM for downloading, and have to agree it should've been named DAZ Download Manager or perhaps DAZ Download/Install Manager. Hmmm, I guess the acronym for that would be DDIM, or still just DIM if you left off the DAZ portion. ;-)
Being able to select a number of files to download automatically, walk away to take care of something else, and come back to have them all downloaded is a huuuuuuge plus from the old one-at-a-time downloads we had to put up with in the old store.
Just my 2¢ FWIW.